snowpack

Snow continues in the high country with more than a foot reported in parts of the San Juans, followed by much colder temperatures and subzero lows before a gradual warmup this weekend.

Warm temperatures and a lack of snow have made for an anomalous winter in the Upper Colorado River Basin. While it's not "the new normal," winters are certainly warming up due to climate change.

The Upper Arkansas Basin in the central part of the state is currently the driest, with about 49% of the normal snowpack.

Keystone Resort in Colorado was the first resort in the country to open in 2025, in part due to their emphasis on early-season snowmaking. As climate change amplifies drought in the Mountain West, ski areas across the region are considering how best to use increasingly scarce water resources.

A look at early December snowfall across the Four Corners: Cortez picked up just under an inch, with similar totals in Dove Creek, Mancos, and Dolores, while Durango saw around two inches and Bluff only a trace. Regional snowpack sits at about 70% of normal so far, with more snow still falling. The Colorado Avalanche Information Center reports moderate danger above the tree line, and today’s storm is expected to change conditions quickly — making it a good day to avoid the high country.

Snow tapers off today with slick mountain roads and colder temps. More mountain snow arrives Tuesday through Thursday, with a cool, unsettled pattern into the weekend.

Warmer temperatures in November meant that less snowpack accumulated. But storms did increase soil moisture in the Upper Colorado River Basin, making future precipitation more likely to run off slopesides and boost rivers and streams.

This week’s Water Wednesday Outdoor Report looks at early-season snowpack levels across the San Miguel, Dolores, Animas, and San Juan basins, recent precipitation totals around the region, and how upcoming moisture may influence drought conditions.

Autumn weather in Cortez and Montezuma County has been lovely so far, but of course there is a down side – a lack of precipitation.

Highs run 10° above normal today and Friday before a weekend storm brings widespread rain, cooler temps, and mountain snow.